Production of soap threads



A H. CHARLTON 1,764,866 PRODUCTION OF SOAP THREADS Filed Nov. 1, 1926 Patented June 11, 1930 UNITED sTArEs PATENT ounce ARTHUR HERBERT cinnamon, or snnnrronn, ENGLAND, Assremon o'r' ONEPHALF To '1'. B. ROWE AND COMPANY, LIMITED, or nnnu'rronnsnemnn whilst molten through a small ori PRODUCTION OF SOAP TITREADS Application filed-November 1, 1926, Serial No. 145,623, and in Great Britain November 24, 1925.

' This invention relates to the manufacture of soap threads and the like, for example soap in ribbon form. t the present time the'.manufacture of high-class soap in this form is usually carried out by converting liquid soap into ribbon form either by cooling it on a drum or by forming it into bars and then drying it, after whichit is milled'into flake form.

It has, however, been proposed to treat soap for the production of thin threads of the nature of vermicelli by forcing it in a sufliciently soft condition through dies .in an apparatus resembling the ordinary plodder used in forming cakes of soap.

' Proposalsfor the manufacture of soap .in powder form have also been made especlally for the production of washing powders by spraying or atomizing processes. Such powders as ordinarily made usually contain a considerable admixture of alkali.

It has also been proposed to utilize 'a spray-- ing finely-divided soap.

The invention consists in a method of preparing soap which com rises the forcing of liquidsoap under su ita le pressure withior without other ingredients throu h suitable orifices for the formation of sohdified filaments or ribbons. I

The invention also consists in' soa in filament or ribbon form .when prepare accordto processesindic'ated herein. I eferring to the accompanying draw,-

gs:-, y

Figure 1 is adiagrammatic representation of one form'of apparatus for carrying the inby means of a rotary pump.

Figure 2 is an; illustration of soap pumped Co by the apparatus shown in Figure Figure 3 is an enlarged view of elements "of Figure 2.

Figure e is'amodification where centrif-- ugal force is employed.

' Figure 5 is an enlarged view of soap forced through small holes by. centrifugal force, namely by the apparatus of Figure 4.

'In carrying the invention into eifect in the form illustrated in Figure 1, liquid soap a at a naryconcentration, that is containing about 63 per cent fatty acids, is drawn from a con- .tainer b, by the rotary pump (1 result, solidified soap in filamentous form is obtained, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Thefilaments are discontinuous and of varying length, those shown being of the order from 4inch to'an inch in length.

When freshly prepared the filaments are of somewhat uneven diameter, having the apparance shown, for example, in Figure 3.

The invention is not limited tov the size of n c 1 dlscharge orifice indicated or to a pressure of the amount indicated above, because variationsmay be made, having regard, for ex;

ample, to the type of soap it is desired to produce, the temperature used and the output re uired. I

are should be taken that the pressure 1s sufiiciently high to force the soap through the .holes to provide the desired fllamevor ribbons on solidification. W

The pressure may be conveniently between 15 and 60 lbs. per s uare inch. It may be obtained in any suita le way, for instance, by the direct pressureof a pump or by a pres sure vesselor by centrifugal force.

Figure 4 illustrates an apparatusby which the pressure may be obtained by centrlfugal force.

In this apparatus the soap dis containedin a cylindrical vessel 9 having a number of.

holesh in its periphery, of diameter about mm. The vessel g is provided ith a filling aperture m'through which molten soap can be fed-by means of the tap n; The vessel is supported on a pivot i and guided by an upper bearing temperature at which soap is usually taken I from theboiling pan and of materials which readily solidify on exposure and of ordi- It is rotated at high speed by means indicated as a grooved pulley k and.driving band Z. A. convenient speed for purposes of the present invention is 3,500 revolutions per minute.

Figure 5 illustrates the appearance of soap which has been freshly preparedjby this method.

' Gememl i If desired soap previously aeratedmay-be used. D

As regards the number of holes, this also depends on requirements. I find 1t convement 'to use from 30 to 50 holes in a clrcular area of about 1 inches diameter, but this is not essential.

The size of the holes may be varied to glve, for instance, filaments or ribbons up to a thickness of about 1 mm. the width of the ribbons varying, for instance, up about 1" according to the thinness of the ribbon formed.

Having regard to the size of holes through which extrusion takes place the filtering operation frequently employed in soap manufacture should be carefully conducted in order to avoid choking of the orifices.

The soap may be extruded in any convenient direction, for example, the soap may extrusion chamber the effect of counter-cur-- rent cooling may be obtained.

The solidified filaments or ribbons may be caused to fall directly into a conveyor or on to a conveyor band.

through a fine orifice into a cooling atmosphere the soap being continuously cooled by radiation during its passage through such conduit.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ARTHUR HERBERT CHARLTON.

I prefer that the cooling on extrusion should be the first consideration and the operation of drying be subsequently efl'ected for instance by means. of warm or dry air, so as to form a soap having the necessary per- .centage of fatty acids fora high-class toilet soap.

The fatty acid content of the soap may be varied and other ingredients preferably in liquid form or in solution and com atible with soap, for example, sodium car onate or silicate of soda may be mixed therewith before extrusion if desired.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is Process of producing filaments of soap from hot liquld soap of a temperature at whlch soap is usually taken from the boiling panand of materials which readiIysoIidifZ upon cooling, which comprises asslng su hot soap through a conduit and orcing same 

